Gregory Edward Jacobs (August 25, 1963 – April 22, 2021), known professionally as Shock G and by his alter ego Humpty Hump, was an American rapper and musician who was best known as the lead vocalist of the

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

group

Digital Underground Digital Underground is an American alternative hip hop group from Oakland, California. Its lineup grows with each album and tour. Digital Underground's leader and mainstay was Gregory "Shock G" Jacobs (also known as Humpty Hump). Shock G forme ...

. He was responsible for Digital Underground's "

The Humpty Dance "The Humpty Dance" is a song by the American hip-hop group Digital Underground from their debut album ''Sex Packets''. Released as the second single from the album in January 1990, it reached No. 11 on the pop chart, No. 7 on the R&B chart, and N ...

2Pac Tupac Amaru Shakur (; born Lesane Parish Crooks; June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known by his stage names 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper and actor, regarded as one of the greatest and most influential rappers of all tim ...

's breakthrough single " I Get Around", and co-producer of 2Pac's debut album ''

2Pacalypse Now ''2Pacalypse Now'' is the debut solo studio album by American rapper 2Pac. It was released on November 12, 1991, through TNT Recordings and Interscope Records, while EastWest Records America, a division of Atlantic distributed the album. The recor ...

''.

Early life

Gregory Edward Jacobs was born on August 25, 1963, in

Queens, New York Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...

. His maternal grandfather was a Hasidic Jew. He spent most of his childhood moving around the East Coast with his family, eventually settling in

Tampa, Florida Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and t ...

. As a drummer he won the 1978 "Most Talented" trophy at Greco Junior High School. As a result of his parents' divorce, he later relocated back to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. There he traded his drums in for a set of turntables upon discovering and marvelling over

hip hop music Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music Music genre, genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African Americans, African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide r ...

while the art form was still in an underground developmental stage. He was mentored in the craft by his cousin Rene Negron (also known as DJ-Stretch), and their close friend Shawn Trone (also known as MC Shah-T of the

parody A parody is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satire, satirical or irony, ironic imitation. Often its subject is an Originality, original work or some aspect of it (theme/content, author, style, e ...

-rap group No Face) who suggested Greg use the name "Shah-G". Jacobs liked the idea, but mistakenly thought his friend said Shock G, and began using that name instead. After returning to Tampa less than two years later, he dropped out of Chamberlain High School to form the Master Blasters, a mobile DJ crew which featured three DJs and four emcees at its height. They performed at parties and for crowds at Riverfront Park's outdoor Sunday gatherings, eventually capturing the interest of Tony Stone, a program director at WTMP radio, which was the city's primary R&B station. Stone offered Jacobs, who was sixteen at the time, a job

DJing A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include Radio personality, radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at nightclubs or music fes ...

on the air, and for a short while, as "Gregory Racker", he was the youngest

radio personality A radio personality is a person who has an on-air position in radio broadcasting. A radio personality who hosts a radio show is also known as a radio host (North American English), radio presenter (British English) or radio jockey. Radio personali ...

in central Florida with a regular time slot. After being fired for playing the fifteen-minute-long album version of " (Not Just) Knee Deep" by

Funkadelic Funkadelic was an American funk rock band formed in Plainfield, New Jersey in 1968 and active until 1982. As one of the two flagship groups of George Clinton's P-Funk collective, they helped pioneer the funk music culture of the 1970s.John, ...

in a five-minute time slot, and also after tensions with his father escalated, Jacobs found himself

backpacking Backpacking may refer to: * Backpacking (travel), low-cost, independent, international travel * Backpacking (hiking), trekking and camping overnight in the wilderness * Ultralight backpacking, a style of wilderness backpacking with an emphasis on ...

the United States for a few years, drifting through odd jobs and petty criminal adventures. It was during this excursion that his focus switched from DJing to keyboard playing, and while utilizing piano practice-rooms at music stores and colleges around the country, he effectively taught himself to play the piano. Deciding to pursue music seriously, he returned home, obtained a

diploma A diploma is a document awarded by an educational institution (such as a college or university) testifying the recipient has graduated by successfully completing their courses of studies. Historically, it has also referred to a charter or offi ...

, and began attending Hillsborough Community College (HCC), where he studied

music theory Music theory is the study of theoretical frameworks for understanding the practices and possibilities of music. ''The Oxford Companion to Music'' describes three interrelated uses of the term "music theory": The first is the "Elements of music, ...

under Jim Burge and piano under Patricia J. Trice. It was there at HCC that he met and formed a bond with Kenneth Waters, and the two began performing together under various names including The Chill Factor, and also The Four Horsemen, which included MC Skoobie-D, and the MD Dazzlin Doc-P who had recently moved to Tampa from the Bronx. In 1985, after two years of producing local artists for hire, playing solo piano gigs around town, performing with Waters, and being a keyboardist in Warren Allen Brooks' band, Jacobs and his aspiring-actress girlfriend Davita Watts eloped to Los Angeles in search of greater opportunity. There he played keyboards in Kenny McCloud's pop-

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...

band Onyx before leaving Los Angeles and arriving in the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a List of regions of California, region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose, California, S ...

where he found work in an Oakland music store, and where his group Digital Underground would form a few years later.

Career

Digital Underground

After relocating to Oakland, California, Shock G formed

along with Chopmaster J, and Kenneth Waters (also known as Kenny-K). After around 15 months of unsuccessful negotiations with various small record companies, in 1988 the trio released a

12-inch single The twelve-inch single (often written as 12-inch or 12) is a type of vinyl ( polyvinyl chloride or PVC) gramophone record that has wider groove spacing and shorter playing time with a "single" or a few related sound tracks on each surface, compa ...

on Macola Records. It featured "Your Life's a Cartoon" as the A-side and "Underwater Rimes" as the B-side. Both songs were penned, produced, and performed by Jacobs, who sketched the cartoonish cover illustrations. The record included the logo for Digital Underground's startup label, TNT, as well as Macola's logo. TNT was founded by Tupac Shakur's management CEO Atron Gregory. In 1989, the group signed with

Tommy Boy Records Tommy Boy Records is an American independent record label and multimedia brand founded in 1981 by Tom Silverman. The label is credited with helping and launching the music careers of Queen Latifah, Amber, Afrika Bambaataa, Stetsasonic, Digita ...

and released " Doowutchyalike", receiving minimal radio airplay but became an underground hit. Its video was more successful, reaching number 40 on the MTV's top 100 videos of the year. "Doowutchyalike" paved the way for Digital Underground's debut album '' Sex Packets'' and the highest-charting song of their career "

" both released in early 1990, and both achieving platinum sales certifications by the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

. The latter was rapped by Humpty Hump, the most flamboyant of Shock G's several

alter ego An alter ego (Latin for "other I") means an alternate Self (psychology), self, which is believed to be distinct from a person's normal or true original Personality psychology, personality. Finding one's alter ego will require finding one's other ...

s. By that time, Digital Underground had expanded significantly, with DJ Fuze, Money-B, and Schmoovy-Schmoov joining the group, and with Ramone "Pee Wee" Gooden and Tupac Shakur joining by 1991.

Other identities

Jacobs performed under many aliases he developed over his career, resulting in characters that were maintained with such reality that they were believed to be separate people by both fans and industry insiders. While he rapped in his normal voice as Shock G, as "Humpty Hump" he adopted a more nasal sound as part of this character's exaggerated buffoon persona that included garish clothes and Groucho glasses. A fictional biography was included in Digital Underground's press kit stating that Humpty Hump's real name was Edward Ellington Humphrey III and he wore the Groucho glasses after burning his nose in a deep fryer accident. Jacobs made public appearances as one person or the other, but at live shows and video shoots he would use a stand-in or camera tricks to maintain the illusion. Jacobs sometimes performed as other characters including MC Blowfish, Icey-Mike, The Computer Woman, ButtaFly, and Peanut Hakeem.

Television and film work

Shock G's TV appearances include ''

Showtime at the Apollo ''Showtime at the Apollo'' (formerly ''It's Showtime at the Apollo'' and ''Apollo Live'') is an American variety show that first aired in syndication from September 12, 1987, to May 24, 2008. In 2018, the series returned on Fox with Steve Harve ...

'' in 1992, several ''

The Arsenio Hall Show ''The Arsenio Hall Show'' is an American syndicated late-night talk show created by and starring comedian Arsenio Hall. There have been two different incarnations of ''The Arsenio Hall Show''. The original series premiered on January 3, 1989 ...

'' performances between 1990 and 1994, and several live MTV performances, including MTV Spring Break 1990 in Daytona Beach, ''Yo MTV Raps'' (performing live with Ed Lover and Doctor Dré) in 1991, '' Club MTV Live'' (with Downtown Julie Brown) in 1992, and MTV Jams in 1994. Most of these consisted of music performances with either Digital Underground or 2Pac; however, on an episode of the 1991 sitcom '' Drexell's Class'', Jacobs played a small acting role as a furnace repairman. Within the show's story, the title character, Otis Drexell, insists that the furnace repairman looks exactly like Humpty Hump, but neither he nor his coworker (

Jason Priestley Jason Bradford Priestley (born August 28, 1969) is a Canadian-American actor and television director. Priestly starred as virtuous Brandon Walsh on the television series ''Beverly Hills, 90210'' (1990–1998, 2000). His other television roles in ...

) have heard of any such hip-hop artist, especially not one with such a ridiculous name. The episode ends with a live performance of Digital Underground's "No Nose Job" on a cruise ship full of ''Sports Illustrated'' swimsuit models, which is presented as a scene from one of Drexell's dreams. With his Digital Underground band members, Jacobs appeared in the

Dan Aykroyd Daniel Edward Aykroyd ( ; born July 1, 1952) is a Canadian actor, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. Aykroyd was a writer and an original member of the "Not Ready for Prime Time Players" cast on the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Nigh ...

-directed comedy film '' Nothing but Trouble'' (1991) appearing as both Shock G and Humpty Hump. The group (including Tupac Shakur) makes a cameo music performance, as well as play a small character role in the film as themselves. Jacobs has appeared in a handful of music documentaries, including ''Thug Angel: Life of an Outlaw'' (2000) about Tupac Shakur, and ''Parliament Funkadelic: One Nation Under a Groove'' (1996) about George Clinton & P-Funk, both of which received heavy TV rotation, and both of which relied heavily on Jacobs' commentary. On June 24, 2011, Shock G was featured on an episode of the podcast "You Had To Be There" with comedians

Nikki Glaser Nikki Glaser (; born June 1, 1984) is an American stand-up comedian, actress, and television host. She hosted the television series '' Not Safe with Nikki Glaser'', which premiered on Comedy Central in 2016. She starred in the 2022 reality show ' ...

and Sara Schaefer.

Albums

* ''Fear of a Mixed Planet'' (2004 33rd Street Records) * ''Fear of a Mixed Planet; Bonus Edition'' (2008 Jake Records) * with Digital Underground:

Production, solo work, and miscellaneous

In addition to his work with Digital Underground, Shock G found moderate success as a solo artist and music producer. In 1993, Shock G produced

Tupac Shakur Tupac Amaru Shakur (; born Lesane Parish Crooks; June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known by his stage names 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper and actor, regarded as one of the greatest and most influential rappers of all tim ...

's breakthrough platinum single "I Get Around" as well as guest starred on the single and music video, and went on to produce Tupac's "So Many Tears" from his multi-platinum 1995 album ''

Me Against the World ''Me Against the World'' is the third studio album by American rapper 2Pac. It was released on March 14, 1995, by Interscope Records and Out da Gutta Records and distributed by Atlantic Records. 2Pac draws lyrical inspiration from his impend ...

''. Tupac's first published work was while still a member of Digital Underground when he appeared on the 1991 song and video "Same Song", which also appeared in the

Chevy Chase Cornelius Crane "Chevy" Chase (; born October 8, 1943) is an American comedian, actor, and writer. He became the breakout cast member in the first season of ''Saturday Night Live'' (1975–1976), where his recurring ''Weekend Update'' segment b ...

, Dan Aykroyd and

Demi Moore Demi Gene Moore ( ; née Guynes; born November 11, 1962) is an American actress. After rising to prominence in the early 1980s, she became the world's highest-paid actress by 1995. List of awards and nominations received by Demi Moore, Her acc ...

film '' Nothing but Trouble''. Shock co-produced Tupac's debut album ''

''. Shock G appeared as a producer and guest artist on fellow

Oakland Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major West Coast port, Oakland is ...

-based rap group The Luniz platinum debut release '' Operation Stackola'' in 1995, also appearing as a guest emcee in the " I Got 5 on It (Bay Ballas Remix)" and video. In 1996 the Wayans brothers' film ''

Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood #REDIRECT Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood {{R from other capitalisation ...

'' featured the Shock G song "We Got More". The song, which featured Oakland rappers Luniz was used for three different scenes in the film, and is featured in two different places on the soundtrack, making it the only song to appear twice on one soundtrack. In 1998,

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

included the Shock G produced "Love Sign" on his triple-CD ''

Crystal Ball A crystal ball is a crystal or glass ball commonly used in fortune-telling. It is generally associated with the performance of clairvoyance and scrying through crystal gazing. Used since Antiquity, crystal balls have had a broad reputation with ...

'' album. Shock G has toured and performed on stage with George Clinton and P-Funk including a guest performance with Clinton at

Woodstock 1999 Woodstock 1999 (also called Woodstock '99) was a music festival held from July 21 to July 26, 1999, in Rome, New York, United States. After Woodstock '94, it was the second large-scale music festival that attempted to emulate the original 196 ...

. In 2003, Shock G produced the single "Risky Business" for Los Angeles underground artist Murs, and also appeared in the video, as himself and as Humpty Hump. Murs performed this song live with Shock G at the Paid Dues festival, and also featured him as his stage DJ/music conductor on a 2-month extensive Definitive Jux label U.S. and Canada tour. On January 20, 2009, Shock G's single "Cherry Flava'd Email" was renamed and released as a special edition called "Cherry Flava'd Election" to commemorate the inauguration of President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

Death

On April 22, 2021, Jacobs was found dead in a motel room in Tampa, Florida, at age 57. On June 10, 2021, the Hillsborough County medical examiner announced that Shock G's death was caused by an accidental overdose of

fentanyl Fentanyl is a highly potent synthetic piperidine opioid primarily used as an analgesic (pain medication). It is 30 to 50 times more Potency (pharmacology), potent than heroin and 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine. Its primary Medici ...

methamphetamine Methamphetamine (contracted from ) is a potent central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is mainly used as a recreational drug use, recreational or Performance-enhancing substance, performance-enhancing drug and less commonly as a secon ...

and ethanol (alcohol). Jacobs was interred at Parklawn Memorial Cemetery in

Dunedin, Florida Dunedin ( ) is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. The name comes from ''Dùn Èideann'', the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Dunedin is part of the Tampa Bay Area, Tampa–St. Petersburg–Clearwater ...

Discography

Studio albums

*''Fear of a Mixed Planet''

Production discography

Digital Underground albums

*1990 ''Sex Packets'' *1991 ''This Is an EP Release'' *1991 ''Sons of the P'' *1993 ''The Body Hat Syndrome'' *1996 ''Future Rhythm'' *1998 ''Who Got the Gravy'' *1999 ''The Lost Files'' *2008 ''..Cuz a D.U. Party Don't Stop!'' *2010 ''The Greenlight EP''

Songs

*1987 "Your Life's a Cartoon" <> Digital Underground *1988 "Underwater Rimes" <> Digital Underground *1989 "Doowutchyalike" <> Digital Underground *1990 "Don't Funk Wid the Mo (Remix)" <> Monie Love *~~~~"Tellin' Time (Mike's Rap)" <>. Dr. Dre, Michael Concepcion *~~~~ "What I Won't Do for Love (Shock G Remix)" <>. 2Pac & Digital Underground (unreleased) *1991 "Rockin to the PM" <> Raw Fusion *~~~~ "Rebel of the Underground"; Words of Wisdom; Tha' Lunatic <> 2Pac *1993 "I Get Around" <>. 2Pac & Digital Underground *~~~~ "Get Away (Remix)" <>. Bobby Brown *1995 " So Many Tears"; "Fuck the World" <>.2Pac & Shock G *~~~~ "P.Y.T."; "Swing It to the Left Side" <> Smooth *~~~~ "Broke Hos"; "5150" <> Luniz *~~~~ "Funk Session" <> Too $hort & Shock G *1996 "We Got More" <> Shock G & Luniz *~~~~ "Don't Ring My Bell" <> Luniz *~~~~ "Gloomy Sunday" <> Mystic *~~~~ "Nothing Has Changed", Digital Underground; "People Over the Stairs", Shock G; "Pick-a-Part", Clue; "Come N' Bounce", Shay *1997 "True Playas" <> Whoridas *~~~~ "Cause I Had To" <> 2Pac & P-90 (unreleased) *1998 "Love Sign" <> Prince *~~~~ "Broad Minded"; Sendin' You a Signal <> Mr. No No *1999 "Crawl Before You Ball"; "Liquid Ho Magnet"; Running Man <> Saafir *2000 "Do What Ya Want" <> Rhythm & Green *~~~~ "Let the Beat Breathe" <> Esinchill *2001 "Chassy" <>. Mac Mall *2003 "Risky Business" <>. Murs *2004 "Smilin' Faces" <> KRS-One

Guest appearances

*1989 "Love Talk" <> Tyler Collins *1990 "We're All in the Same Gang" <> Westcoast Allstars *~~~~ "Time for Peace" <> Davey-D, Paris, Tech & Sway *1991 "Trapped" <> 2Pac *~~~~ "Throw Your Hands in the Air"; "Funkintoyoear" <> Raw Fusion *1992 "Money" <> Gold Money *1993 "I Get Around <> 2Pac *~~~~ "Close the Crack House" <> Professor X, Wise Intelligent, Big Daddy Kane, Chuck D *~~~~ "Rhythm & Rhyme" <> George Clinton *~~~~ "Paint the White House Black" <> George Clinton, Ice Cube, Kam, Yo-Yo, Dr. Dre, Public Enemy, Pupa Curly *1994 "Freaky Note"; Do Your Homework"; "Dirty Drawls" <> Raw Fusion *~~~~ "The Original Lesson" <> Ben Sidran, Shock G *1995 " I Got 5 on It (Remix)"; 5150 <> Luniz *~~~~ "Funk Session" <> Too Short *~~~~ "Fuck the World" <> 2Pac *~~~~ "Black Book" <> African Identity *1996 "Knee Deep (Deep as a Mutha Funker Remix)"; "Knee Deep (Midnight Mix)" <> George Clinton *~~~~ "We GOT MORE" <> Luniz & Shock G *1999 "Glayz Donutt Face" <> C-Funk *~~~~ "Miss Bartender" <> Money-B *~~~~ "Crawl Before You Ball" <> Saafir *2000 "No DNA" <> Clee & Drank-a-Lot *2001 "Chassy" <> Mac Mall *2002 "Wuz Crackulatin'," 2wice *2003 "Risky Business" <> Murs *2003 "Way of Life", Stylophonic *~~~~ "At the Next Show", Sir Mix-a-lot *2004 "Snake and the Apple", Stucky *2004 "Who's Microphone - The Humpty/Durty Remix", Split 50 *2005 "Career Finders", Perceptionists *2005 "Say What You Say", Soma Rasa *2005 "California Girls Dipped in Chocolate", Slapbak *2005 "Freaky Pumps", Fat Lip *2005 "City to City", Straw *2005 "Love Letters", 2Pac, Rappin' 4-Tay, Assassin *2006 "The Wizard", Mr. Rakafela *2006 "If You're True"; "Pain and Misery (remix)", InershA *2006 "Shock G Interlude", 2Pac *2007 "Shock G's Outro/Hidden Track", Ássassin, Ray Luv, 2Pac *2007 "California Dreamin", San Quinn, Assassin *2007 "Plainfield", Prince Paul, Bernie Worrell *2008 "Crazy", Maddie Lauer *2008 "Light of Love", Yameen, Lady Alma *2018 "Heem", Undaflow, Big Sharp *2019 Cuttynclean JC – "Keep It PI" feat. Mistah fab and Moe Green

Digital Underground videos

*"Doowutchyalike" (1989) *"The Humpty Dance" (1989) *"Doowutchyalike" (video remix) (1990) *"Same Song" (1991) *"Kiss You Back" (1991) *"No Nose Job" (1992) *"Return of the Crazy One" (1993) *"Wussup Wit the Luv" (1994) *"Oregano Flow" (1996) *"Walk Real Kool" (1996) *"Wind Me Up" (1998)

Featured guest video appearances

* "We're All in the Same Gang" (1990) Westcoast All-Stars * "Throw Your Hands in the Air" (1991) Raw Fusion * "Trapped" (1991) 2Pac * "Money" (1992) Gold Money * "Close the Crackhouse" (1992) X-Clan * "I Get Around" (1993) 2Pac featuring Digital Underground * "No Brothas Allowed" (1994) No Face * " I Got 5 on It (Bay Ballas Remix)" (1995) Luniz * "Temptations" (1995) 2Pac * "Risky Business" (2003) Murs * "Hit the Streets" (2003) Element * "City to City" (2005) Straw the Vegas Don * "Crazy" (2008) Maddie Lauer

DVDs

* ''Nothing But Trouble'' (1991) * ''Thug Angel: The Life of an Outlaw'' (2000) * '' Tupac: Resurrection'' (2003) * ''Digital Underground: Raw and Uncut'' (2004) * ''Parliament/Funkadelic; One Nation Under a Groove'' (2005)

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Shock G 1963 births 2021 deaths Drug-related deaths in Florida 20th-century American musicians 20th-century American rappers Rappers from New York City Songwriters from New York (state) African-American male rappers 20th-century American male rappers African-American record producers African-American songwriters American hip-hop musicians American hip-hop singers American hip-hop record producers West Coast hip-hop musicians Psychedelic rappers African-American comics artists American comics artists 21st-century American rappers Record producers from New York (state) 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American male musicians Tommy Boy Records artists 20th-century African-American musicians 21st-century African-American musicians American male songwriters Alcohol-related deaths in Florida